I am a wife, a mom, a sister, a daughter, a neice, an aunt and a friend. I never thought I would hear the words "It's not good. There are cancer cells". December 8, 2010 changed my life forever. This is my scary, long, enlightening journey through breast cancer. I hope that my words help others facing a similar situation or those that love someone going through breast cancer. I don't know where the road in front of me leads, but I know that Breast Cancer won't define me.

Quote:

"Don't spend time worrying about how you are going to die. Worry about how you are going to live today"

Monday, January 10, 2011

Trying to get my act together

I just can't let this week go by without getting my act together and getting organized for the battle ahead of me. I really don't feel like doing this stuff, but I have to. I just can't lay around and feel sorry for myself. This surgery, treatment and everything else IS going to happen whether I want it to or not, so I have to get moving.

The first thing I did early this morning was open the package on my day-planner pages for 2011 and get them in my planner. I know that getting my calendar and "to-do" lists set up is the first step. Now I have to create the never ending "cancer to-do list". This seems completely overwhelming right now to me. What a chore.

This week's tasks:
Schedule appointment with nutritionist (free consultations offered by American
Cancer Society)
Read about organic foods/make lists
Read about foods that fuel hormone receptor positive breast cancer/list of foods to
avoid
Schedule lymphedema prevention course
Contact my "breast cancer mentor" (survivor that can help me with the months ahead)
Create final lists of questions for plastic surgeon and surgical oncologist
Confirm surgery date
Schedule pre-OP appointments with surgical oncologist and plastic surgeon
Schedule annual physical (I need to make sure the rest of my body is OK I guess)
Schedule annual PAP with gynecologist (I am due for this in January)
Find a good physical therapist that can help me get moving again post OP
Continue to exercise daily for a minimum of 30 minutes (for sanity purposes)
Compile a list of things I need to purchase before surgery to make things easy and
more comfortable
Head to the book store - books on BC, nutrition, spiritual inspiration/hope
Call my health insurance company/find out what's covered and not covered
Plan at least one fun activity for next weekend with my son

I know there is more that I will need to do, but if I can just knock out these things, I will be proud of myself. I know that tackling things will keep me busy. I am usually not a procrastinator. No one told me that with breast cancer you would also get a little bit of procrastination as a side effect.

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Me and my son

3 months post chemo - I kept my hair with Penguin Cold Caps!!

About Me:

I am 46 years old. I have spent the last twenty plus years being a health role model for others. I teach aerobics and have tried for years to inspire others to lead a healthy life and take care of their bodies and minds. I am married to a wonderful man and have an amazing 5 year old son who is my joy. I am close with my family whom all lived within 10 minutes of me, but we recently moved five hours away. I am blessed to have so many wonderful friends in my life. Now I also have to say "I have breast cancer". I was diagnosed with Stage I Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in December of 2010. I have no real family history and had been having a lump monitored from 6 months previous. Now I am on a new journey in my life. The coming weeks, months and years will be forever changed by my cancer diagnosis. I have always thought of myself as the type of person that is persistant, strong willed and with an overwhelming desire to succeed in anything I do. Now I must channel those qualities to overcome breast cancer. This is my story of going through my journey with breast cancer. I don't have a choice in whether I want to go through this. The only choice I have is "how" I go through this. I want to go through this strong, with dignity and and find as much joy and happiness in my life as possible along the way. I don't want cancer to define my life and who I am. I want to be the best mom, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, neice and friend I can be and live a life I am proud of.

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Breast Cancer Statistics

- 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime
-39,840 women are expected to die in 2010 due to breast cancer despite the fact that deaths from breast cancer are decreasing each year since 1991
-In 2010 there are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the US
-70-80% of women that develop breast cancer had no family history of breast cancer
*Information from www.breastcancer.org